Why I reported @realDonaldTrump to @Twitter – again

Context: Trump’s ongoing attacks on women, press, rule of law

As a digital strategist, I’ve been on Twitter almost 24/7 for the last 7 years. I’ve seen it all. Which is probably why I don’t often mute, block or report someone on Twitter. But this is different. I mean: we’re talking about the President of the United States here. Someone who is supposed to lead by example. Someone who is supposed to behave with dignity and respect. Someone who is supposed to be able to distinguish between feelings and frustrations that should be kept private, and statements a President can make in public.

So when a friend messaged me to say she had reported Trump because it was a clear violation of Twitter Terms of Service, I agreed and I reported him too. And today I did again. Silence is complicity. More importantly: I felt it was important to share with my followers I had done so, and invited them to do the same. If President Trump is not capable or willing to behave like a President, we as civil society and @Twitter (the company) should draw the line and at least make him respect the basic principles of decency on social media.

What do I think will happen? I don’t expect @Twitter to suspend @realDonaldTrump. But they should send him a warning, perhaps suspend his account for a day, and mark his tweets as ‘potentially sensitive content’ – or whatever it is they do with other accounts in similar cases. They should treat him like anyone else. If, for whatever reason, @Twitter can’t or won’t treat President Trump like any other user, they should make a public statement to explain why. But I’d much prefer to see @Twitter not have double standards.